$40.99 (R)
Paperback

Looking for an examination copy?

If you are interested in the title for your course we can consider offering an examination copy. To register your interest please contact collegesales@cambridge.org providing details of the course you are teaching.

In 1888 the University of Pennsylvania sponsored the first ever American archaeological expedition to Mesopotamia, to Nippur, about 160 km south of Baghdad. Among the artefacts discovered were the remains of over 100 inscribed bowls from the early centuries CE. Some contain unidentifiable writing, but most carry spiral inscriptions of exorcism texts in one of three Aramaic dialects and scripts: that of the Babylonian Talmud, a Syriac dialect, and Mandaic. This book, first published in 1913, contains transcriptions and annotated translations of texts from forty of the bowls, together with an inscription found on a human skull, and 41 illustrations. A substantial introduction sets the material in the broader context of Hellenistic magic. The author traces the bowl magic back to ancient Babylonian sorcery, and explores its relations with cuneiform religious texts and Greek magical papyri, emphasising its culturally eclectic character and the diversity of its users.

How do you rate this item?

Product details

Date Published: February 2011

format: Paperback

isbn: 9781108025812

length: 374pages

dimensions: 244 x 170 x 20 mm

weight: 0.6kg

contains: 41 b/w illus.

availability: Available

Table of Contents

Preface Introduction 1. Survey of the material 2. Script and language 3. The magic of the texts 4. Historical conclusions Texts Glossaries General index Prefatory note to the plates Register of the bowls Plates.

You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be
completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue
page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.